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Turning 100 years old this year, the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, also known by its fancy North American International Auto Show moniker, is arguably the world’s most significant auto show. Every year, foreign and domestic automakers alike make numerous major introductions at Detroit’s Cobo Center. This year is no different, with some 50 production and concept vehicles set for world debuts under the Detroit show spotlight.

Sunday’s opening media day is a big one. The world’s biggest automotive players are all rolling truckloads of concept and production sheetmetal onto Cobo Center’s auto show turntables.

The domestics will be busy, with Chrysler showing off its new minvans, Ford unwrapping concepts and its 2008 Focus and General Motors rolling out its hot Camaro convertible concept among others. Foreign heavy hitters including Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan will also be making news on Sunday.

Be sure to stay tuned to MotorTrend.com for videos and photos of all the world vehicle debuts, blogs from Motor Trend editors and much more straight from the Cobo Center floor.

Ford Interceptor Concept

When rumors began swirling that Ford had begun development of a four-door Mustang, the automaker immediately jumped up and down and said it was not going there, ever. Mustang would remain a 2+2 coupe, now and forever, was the response from Dearborn. But that hasn’t stopped Ford from using a stretched Mustang chassis as the basis for its new four-door Interceptor concept for the Detroit show. Underneath the Interceptor’s clamshell shaker hood rests a 400 horsepower, 5.0-liter Ford Racing V-8 Cammer engine capable of running on E-85 ethanol. Like the Mustang it’s based upon, the Interceptor Concept is rear drive and uses a six-speed gearbox. Design elements include a three-bar front grille, flush mounted door handles, a minimalist interior with opposing speedometer and tachometer needles and what Ford calls a ‘squircle’ (professionally square circles) theme for both the interior and exterior. Squircle? If you say so, Ford. Hidden audio and climate controls are incorporated inside the Interceptor along with headrests mounted on the roof instead of the seat.

The MKR’s styling, including the 1941 Continental-style grille, thin taillamps, and powerful beltline, signals the future design direction for Lincoln. And its E85-capable 415-horse, twin-turbo 3.5-liter direct-injection V-6 is more powerful than the MKS’s cancelled Yamaha V-8 and is a better engine to have in case of future oil shocks. A six-speed automatic transmission and modified rear-wheel drive platform from the Mustang underpins the concept. The interior features a sloping and elongated console constructed from recycled woods and incorporates blue instrument lighting, mohair carpet, and cashmere seats – fancy concept features that will likely not survive into production if the vehicle makes it that far.

Toyota FT-HS Concept

Toyota’s Detroit show star, the FT-HS concept is designed to showcase Toyota’s leadership in hybrid powertrain technology. Underhood is a next-generation performance hybrid system built around Toyota’s punchy 3.5-liter V-6 and capable of delivering approximately 400 horses. Performance targets include a 0-to-60-mph time in the 4.0-second range. Toyota says the FT-HS is a vision for a 21st-century sports car: a sports car that’s eco-friendly and fun to drive, as fast as a Ferrari, yet as fuel-efficient as a four-cylinder compact.

Styled at Toyota’s Calty facility in Irvine, California, the sharp edges at the corners of the car are designed to manage airflow and the full undertray with rear venturis works with the unique combination taillight/rear wing to provide a measure of downforce. At the rear, floating C-pillars direct airflow into vents to cool the hybrid system’s battery pack. It’s bold. Aggressive. Technical. Pretty? Nope. Of course, the biggest question surrounding the FT-HS is if it signals Toyota’s desire to produce another Supraesque vehicle for the brand. We shall see.

Chrysler is touting its 2008 Chrysler Town and Country and {{{Dodge Grand Caravan}}} minivans as “family rooms on wheels” by the automaker, and predictably the most innovative features are saved for the inside. Both vehicles, which share the same platform, feature Chrysler’s new Swivel ‘n Go seating option. The second row seats can now rotate 180 degrees to face the third row, yet still fold flat when extra storage space is required. A removable table can also be installed between the rows and an integrated child booster seat in the second-row quad chair and a one-touch power-folding third-row 60/40 bench seat are available options. Powering the all-new minivans will be a choice of three V-6s: a 240 horsepower, 4.0-liter version, a 3.8-liter, or a 3.3-liter E85 capable version. The E85 engine receives a four-speed transaxle while the larger displacement engines are given six-speed gearboxes.

Chrysler is touting its 2008 Chrysler Town and Country and {{{Dodge Grand Caravan}}} minivans as “family rooms on wheels” by the automaker, and predictably the most innovative features are saved for the inside. Both vehicles, which share the same platform, feature Chrysler’s new Swivel ‘n Go seating option. The second row seats can now rotate 180 degrees to face the third row, yet still fold flat when extra storage space is required. A removable table can also be installed between the rows and an integrated child booster seat in the second-row quad chair and a one-touch power-folding third-row 60/40 bench seat are available options. Powering the all-new minivans will be a choice of three V-6s: a 240 horsepower, 4.0-liter version, a 3.8-liter, or a 3.3-liter E85 capable version. The E85 engine receives a four-speed transaxle while the larger displacement engines are given six-speed gearboxes.

Ford Airstream Concept

Beneath the Airstream’s retro-futuristic monospace mosh-pit trappings lies Ford’s interpretation of the drivetrain of the future. Like the system in Chevy‘s Volt, it uses fully electric drive, with front and rear motors boasting 174 peak horses each for bodacious giddy-up. The electrons can come out of either a big battery or a smaller one recharged by an engine or a fuel cell. The Airstream concept carries 14 pounds of hydrogen at 10,000 psi (10 pounds at 5000 psi is more likely for the nearer term) to power a conventional fuel cell. It also carries a plug-in 16-kW-hour lithium-ion battery pack good for 25 miles before the fuel cell stack comes on and runs at peak efficiency, maintaining the battery at between maybe 30- and 60-percent charge-that’s lower than the current hybrids to allow space in the batteries to juice up on cheaper plug power at home. Range should extend well beyond the hydrogen-hybrid Explorer’s 350 miles.

An extensive updating of the style and substance of the compact Focus arrives in a few months. A two-bar grille, a higher beltline, and scalloped flanks dominate a look that’s particularly striking on the new two-door coupe variant. An acoustic windshield, thicker side glass and added insulation quiet the cabin, which now features liberal use of aluminum-look trim, six standard airbags, and ice-blue lighting (plus optional footwell/cupholder lighting in seven shades). The springs, shocks, bars, and bushings are all new, and the 2.0-liter engine is retuned.

2008 Ford Five Hundred

It’s no coincidence that the new face of the 2008 Ford Five Hundred is Fusion-like. Ford is hoping that some of the Fusion’s success will rub off on the Five Hundred, which has been criticized for its bland styling. In addition to the three-bar mug, Five Hundred’s other big additions are a more powerful V-6 and an upgraded six-speed automatic transmission. The new 3.5-liter Duratec V-6 is expected to deliver more than 260 horsepower, (60 more horsepower, a 30 percent increase over the 3.0-liter V-6) and the six-speed automatic transmission delivers up to a seven percent increase in fuel economy over a conventional four-speed auto, Ford says. Five Hundred also has a smorgasbord of new and updated safety features.

Scion‘s factory customized Release Series vehicles come loaded with aftermarket additions that are popular with its customers and unique Scion touches. The tC Release Series 3.0 features special frosty Blizzard Pearl white paint job, front and rear KenStyle body kit, darkly tinted headlights, and a wide intake-style grill. Scion’s very own clear LED taillights are also featured on this tricked-out tC.

Electrons are all that power the Volt Concept’s wheels. Its 1.0-liter turbocharged three-banger is hitched directly to a 53-kilowatt generator, with no mechanical connection to the road. If your daily commute is less than 20 miles each way, your Volt may never burn any gasoline. Plugging its 136-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack in to a normal 110-volt 15-amp home power outlet for six hours stores up 16 kilowatt-hours of energy-enough to propel the Delta-platform-based five-passenger wagonlet for 40 miles of EPA city cycle driving before the engine/generator kicks in. When it does, it runs at a constant speed of 1800 to 3000 rpm. Cruising at a constant 70 mph on the highway, the battery should last 30 minutes, then the engine would run for 30 minutes, and so on, with a 12-gallon gas tank capable of 640 miles. GM’s computer simulations have yet to predict the effect A/C, heating, or other accessories will have on these determinations. Best of all: GM’s E-Flex architecture allows for any small alternate-fuel engine, or a fuel cell to replace the Volt’s gas motor.

Toyota made an even bigger truck splash at the 2007 Detroit auto show with the world premiere of its top-of-the-line {{{2007 Tundra}}} CrewMax full-size pickup. Toyota says the four-door CrewMax variant offers the most room, versatility and storage in its all-new, second-generation Tundra lineup.